Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Invests $287,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,159,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,074,718,000 after purchasing an additional 415,531 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,070,528,000 after buying an additional 277,909 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $956,566,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $904,714,000 after buying an additional 10,632,735 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

MS stock traded up $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $94.16. 6,659,334 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,981,409. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $153.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.